St Marcus MKE Sermons

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: The Danger of Rejection and Joy of Reception.” Perhaps the single most common question I get about God as a pastor today is some variation of “How could a loving God send someone to hell?” Closely related to that is the question of if salvation comes through the good news of the gospel, how is it fair that some people seemingly have more access to the gospel than others? It’s an honest and logical question. But it’s also one God has already thought about. While God doesn’t answer every speculation we might have, he always provides reasonable evidence for us to see his wisdom and love. We’ll learn about the nature of God’s judgment this week as we study Matthew 11:20-30.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: Sends Out The Weak.” Last week we said that if you’re a Christian, that means that you’re called. But God always calls people in for the purpose of sending them out. YOU will be his witnesses! What will we accomplish? How should we prepare? What can we expect? We learn all of that as we see Jesus send out his disciples for the first time in Matthew 10:5-22.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: Calls Sinners.” Since Matthew is writing predominantly to Jewish leaders, he’s often pushing the angle of how the good news of Jesus and following Jesus is different from traditional religion. This week, that tension is highlighted by the phrase, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt. 9:13) When Jesus calls us, what is he calling us away from? And what is he calling us to? We’ll discuss all of that and more as we examine Matthew 9:9-17.

This week we get to look at a collection of Jesus’ miracles as we worship under the theme “Jesus: Healer of Wounds.” What is the goal of Jesus’ miracles? What is the environment in which they take place? What do they teach us about the character of Jesus and where we’re going? What do they tell us about how we should be spending our time on earth? We’ll discuss all of these as we do an overview of Jesus’ Miracles while studying Matthew 8:5-17.

We finish up our look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount this week by learning the difference between real & false Christianity. The Sermon on the Mount is less a tale of good vs. evil and more a tale of authentic vs. counterfeit Christianity. And Jesus, this week, teaches about the marks of genuine faith, as we study Matthew 7:15-23.

Our worship series in early 2019 is titled The Gospel of Matthew: The One You’ve Been Waiting For. This week, we move into Jesus’ famous “Sermon on the Mount.” We live in a society that tells us we must never make judgments upon others and sometimes even says this is fully a biblical sentiment. What does Jesus really teach about making judgments? He offers a brilliant, somewhat controversial teaching on the spiritual discernment of others in Matthew 7:1-6.

Our worship series in early 2019 is titled The Gospel of Matthew: The One You’ve Been Waiting For. This week, we encounter the famous story of Jesus’ Testing in the Wilderness. It’s the single best blueprint he gives us in the Gospels for overcoming temptation. But his endurance also helps us understand the depths of his love. This week we’ll be studying Matthew 4:1-11.

As we start a new year, we start a new worship series, titled The Gospel of Matthew: The One You’ve Been Waiting For. As we begin Matthew’s Gospel, we’ll study a young Jesus’ flight from Bethlehem to Egypt and back to Nazareth. This story tells us something very interesting about the journey not only of Christ, but of our lives. We will face opposition at every stop, and glory will come from unexpected places. Our teaching will be based on Matthew 2:13-23.

The end of the year is a nice time not only to remember, but also to let go. The biblical concept of forgiveness is primarily letting go of holding things against others any longer. This doesn’t come naturally. And when it doesn’t come at all, this bitterness turns into what is called WRATH. It’s the same impulse that led to Esau desiring to kill his own brother. We need to learn how to forgive in order to find peace. And this week, we’ll learn how to do that by studying Hebrews 12:12-17.

Without question, perhaps especially this time of year, the world struggles with ENVY. And for many of us, it’s not nearly as simple as wanting more material things. Sometimes it’s the charm of a seemingly perfect family. Sometimes it’s the talents of someone who objectively just has more gifts than us. Or sometimes it’s simply the nostalgic longing for “the way things used to be.” But that yearning for MORE easily turns into a despising of what we currently have, and this eats away at our souls. It definitely happened with the Israelites. And this week we’ll see what to do about it as we study Numbers 11:4-6.

If the world has a definition of “sin” anymore, it’d probably be something like doing bad things. That’s partially true. In Catechism classes, we might call that “Sins of Commission.” But more subtle, and sometimes more offensive, are what we might call “Sins of Omission.” This is not so much doing the wrong thing, but failing to do the right thing. This hurts people just as much. And these are the sins that are the easiest to forget about. We’ll be discussing this concept of the deadly sin of LAZINESS/SLOTH as we tackle the case study of Jacob in Genesis 34:1-7.

The concept of the Seven Deadly Sins is not so much that we love bad things, but that we hyper-love and over desire good things. It’s an excessiveness and misguided prioritization of the heart. The sin of LUST is primarily a sin of craving the excitement and pleasure of human sexuality in a way outside of God’s beautiful design. This week we’ll be looking at a case study on LUST in the story of Joseph & Potiphar’s Wife from Genesis 39:2-21.

The concept of the Seven Deadly Sins is not so much that we love bad things, but that we hyper-love and over desire good things. It’s an excessiveness and misguided prioritization of the heart. The sin of GLUTTONY is primarily a sin of the excessive craving of a good thing. This week we’ll be looking at a case study on GLUTTONY in the person of Achan from Joshua 7:19-25

Our WLS senior pastoral assistant, Sam Jeske, preaches under the theme “Life In the Face of Death” – the story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus back to life, from John 11:32-45.

The concept of the Seven Deadly Sins is not so much that we love bad things, but that we hyper-love and over desire good things. It’s an excessiveness and misguided prioritization of the heart. According to the Bible, the simplest thing to over love in the world is wealth. Why is giving ourselves (and our wealth) away an essential component to a Christian’s life? What does generosity accomplish? For that matter, why is the spread of the gospel an important thing to be generous about? This week we’ll be looking at a case study on GREED in the person of THE RICH YOUNG RULER from Matthew 19:16-26.

For the rest of 2018, we’ll be working through a worship series on The Seven Deadly Sins. SUMMARY: My first exposure to the Seven Deadly Sins came in 1996, when I sat mesmerized, watching a film based on the premise, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. I came to find that even more fascinating than the movie itself was the concept of behavioural vices. Humans have a horrific capacity to excessively pursue their natural passions. We don’t just want what is bad – we hyperlove that which is good, distorting it in an ungodly fashion. Great writers throughout history, like Chaucer and Dante, have also understood this perversity, which is why the Seven Deadly Sins became a major theme of their most famous works. In 590AD, Pope Gregory revised the work of several earlier church fathers and, in his Summa Theologica listed “capital sins” that all others flow from, which is what gave us our modern list of 7. Many preachers throughout history have preached their way through the list. This is my first attempt. This week we’ll be looking at a case study on PRIDE, in the person of King Nebuchadnezzar from Daniel 4:24-37.

2 Timothy 3:10-17 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of thingsv happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

Psalm 150 1 Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (NIV)

This is the final week in our St. Marcus CORE VALUES worship series. We’re looking at our 4th Core Value: Radical Expectations. And this week we’ll be noting how a lack of courage, a lack of expectation, is actually an offense to God as we study Joshua 1:6-11,16.

In our St. Marcus CORE VALUES worship series, we’re looking at our 4th Core Value: Radical Expectations. Many hard workers and organizations possess high expectations for themselves, but in what ways should a Christian Church’s expectation for itself differ from worldly expectations. This week we’ll take a look at Colossians 3:18-25 as we start the study of our final core value.

Jesus is probably the only religious leader you will ever find who actively and intentionally shrinks his congregation. Jesus is constantly pushing followers to calculate the cost of discipleship prior to entering the journey. We’ll take a look at what he says the qualifications are and how they apply to us when we study Luke 9:22-26.

In our St. Marcus CORE VALUES worship series, we’re looking at our 3rd Core Value: Biblical Discipleship. As we study Paul’s letter to a man he helped disciple, Titus, he offers to us 3 essential components to Biblical Discipleship. Find out what they are as we examine Titus 2:1-11.

This week we continue our theme of St. Marcus CORE VALUES. Last week we began our study of our 2nd Core Value: Sacrificial Love. This week we’re going to study Romans 5:1-8 to see those to whom we are naturally inclined to show sacrificial love and to those to whom God is calling us to show sacrificial love.

This week, we recount the time in Jesus' ministry where he exorcised a man possessed by countless demons. We tackle a few difficult questions that come up within this portion of the Gospel and relate it to some of the demons that every sinner faces every day.

This week we continue our theme of St. Marcus CORE VALUES. We’re moving on now to our 2nd Core Value: Sacrificial Love. We’ll take a look at the world’s definition of love, how that impacts us, and how a biblical definition of love has and will change us. We’ll be studying 1 John 3:11-20.

This week we continue our theme of St. Marcus CORE VALUES. Core Values are the durable identity that you take with you wherever you go. The first of our 4 Core Values is Christ First. Last week, we saw that if “seek first His kingdom and righteousness”, we find the solution to our worldly fears. This week, we want to take a deeper look at what it means to embody of this trait, living by Jesus’ Spirit. We’ll examine Romans 8:1-6.

For the next 8 weeks we’re finally doing a series I’ve been hoping to do for almost 2 years now – St. Marcus Core Values. Core Values function somewhat like your organizational identity – the durable, fundamental center that you carry with you everywhere you go. The first of our 4 Core Values is Christ First. This week we’ll be studying what it means to “seek first His kingdom and righteousness” as we study Matt. 6:25-34.

As many of us prepare for a day off on Labor Day, we take a look at what the Bible says about what our attitudes towards our daily labors should look like. Slavery was abundant in human history and is mentioned in the Old and New Testament numerous times. In Colossians, Paul has a message for slaves and masters (if written today, it would be more akin to addressing employees and bosses), in which he urges workers to obey the masters in authority and to work with sincerity and reverence for our God. Colossians 3:22-4:1 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you willreceive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. (NIV)

Originally preached on March 17th, 2018 and part of the series: The Gospel of Mark, From Throne to Cross and Back. Based on Mark 12:35-44. We look at what it means to be a friend of Jesus, how one becomes an enemy of Jesus, and what Jesus has already done FOR his enemies.

Our series is called SATAN’S SLEIGHT OF HAND: The mostly untrue things we really need to stop believing. This week’s lie is “GOD JUST WANTS ME TO BE HAPPY.” Well…..yes, God certainly desires our long-term wellness. But the question remains as to what exactly that means for this life. This week we’ll learn lots from a remarkable description of Moses, from Hebrews 11:23-28, who voluntarily gave up everything Pharoah’s palace had to offer in order to suffer with his people in order to get them to the Promised Land.

Membership in social clubs have declined over recent years. More and more people are stepping away from these types of membership clubs and clinging to their own personal networks, online or otherwise. Hebrews 10:19-35 teaches us perseverance in a different kind of membership - that of our own congregation in the Church of Christ. Our membership into God's "club" was paid for by the sacrifice of his Holy Son, Jesus Christ. We are able to witness and encourage one another through the Sacraments and can be confident with our unlimited access to God.

Today, we dig into what it means to truly love our God. We turn to the end of the Paul's letter to the Ephesians, where we are taught how to live our lives as Christians to the fullest, and to base all our love in Him, and give our lives back to Him. Ephesians 6:23-24 Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

The lie for this week is “A LOVING GOD WOULD NEVER SEND ANYONE TO HELL.” Modern America is what philosophers might call a “soft closed religious society.” What that means is that it’s technically not illegal to discuss matters of faith in public, but it’s considered socially inappropriate. Particularly inappropriate would a discussion of Hell. But it’s actually impossible to be a Christian witness, without modifying the gospel of Jesus, if you never address Hell. So the end result is that most Christians today simply don’t witness their faith in any sort of true, vocal way. If we are called to be witnesses, we need to be confident, and biblical, and loving in our witness of Christ. This week we’re going to learn about how to talk about Hell in a true way, but one that resonates with contemporary culture. We’ll be studying Matthew 25:31-46.

Jesus is the Bread of Life and is the only "food" that can nourish the human soul. In John 6, we take a look at how Jesus is the Bread that came from heaven, and how he is the Bread that leads us to Heaven.

The lie for this week is “THAT SIN CAN’T BE FORGIVEN.” In a society that has almost tried to get the word “sin” out of circulation, it’s fascinating that self-loathing over unresolved guilt anger over unexpressed forgiveness is still one of the largest drivers of behavior. This week, we look at the most famous fail of processing guilt in history, the story of Judas Iscariot, to see the necessity of finding forgiveness, including self-forgiveness. We’ll look at Matthew 27:1-10.

The lie for this week is “RELIGION DOESN’T BELONG IN THE WORKPLACE.” Modern Americans are very familiar with the practice of the privatization of faith. But if good news is, in fact, good, then how private can you truly keep it before you insinuate it’s not all that life-changing? Daniel provides a courageous, humble example this week as we study Daniel 1:8-21.

The lie for this week is “I NEED TO MAKE SOMETHING OF MYSELF.” Hold onto this thought – if Jesus died for the sins of the world, the thing that now separates humans from God is not sin as much as it is the false-righteousness that we turn to in place of Jesus. One of the great Tim Keller revelations of my life is that even non-believers/other religious repent of “bad deeds,” but only Christians repent of finding their hope and identity in false, performance-based righteousness. Paul speaks about this brilliantly and candidly in Philippians 3:1-11, which we’ll study together this week.

The lie for this week is “YOU’VE EARNED EVERYTHING YOU HAVE.” The Bible’s clear teaching is that the sin beneath every other sin, the quintessential sin, is PRIDE. And yet, it’s so powerful, so blinding, that none of us even realizes we’re guilty of it. In fact, the most humble people you know are the only ones truly aware of pride. This week we’re going to do a bit of a character study of arguably the guy in the Bible who most embodies the ugliness of PRIDE. His name is Haman, and we’ll meet him as we study Esther 3:1-6, 6:1-10.

The lie for this week is “YOUR FAITH IS JUST BETWEEN YOU AND GOD.” Researcher Robert Bellah wrote in Habits of the Heart that 81% of Americans believe that you should come to religious conclusions APART from any religious organization. In other words, the majority of people believe you don’t find God in community. They think you find God on your own. The reality is that Americans today, including many Christians, have never reported that they’ve been lonelier. Gen Z 18-22 year-olds are the loneliest, followed by Millennials. Why? Because we’re trying to do life and faith on our own terms, not cemented into Church community. We’ll see how the Apostle Paul teaches us something different as we look at Ephesians 2:19-22.

On this weekend ahead of the July Fourth Holiday, we reflect on the words in 1 Peter 2:13-17. While our country is far from a perfect and united nation, it is best to celebrate the platform which God has given us to be His leaders; leaders to create a fairer and more just world.

This week’s lie is “WOMEN AND MEN ARE BASICALLY THE SAME.” Whether you’re considering chromosomal pairs in a nucleus, sexual organs, or even brain chemistry, or behavior psychology, there are OBVIOUS differences between women and men and logical implications attached to those differences. The problem arises, however, when those differences are abused for selfish gain. In other words, the problem is not in God’s design, but in humanity’s poor execution. As a result, society has adopted more of an egalitarian approach to the sexes. So when we start to discuss things like gender roles in the home and the church, it seems social foreign, perhaps even oppressive. This week we’re going to dig into some of the texts that a 2018 postmodern climate tends to find confusing, if not offensive and regressive. I’ll do my very best to clear up what I think are both misunderstandings in society and in some traditional churches. And hopefully we’ll take one step closer to the truth and beauty of God’s plan. Please join me as we examine 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.

Just as Jesus calmed the stormy wind and waves while on a boat with his frightened disciples, Jesus is able to still the storms that occur in our daily lives, as well as in our faith.

This week’s lie is “MORE MONEY, MORE HAPPINESS.” Most philosophers and religious leaders throughout history have suggested that contentment is the secret to happiness. And yet, modern research also seems to suggest that $34k/year income is a threshold, and $75k/year is another income threshold for happiness. So which is it? Can we be content without X amount of dollars? Should we be content where we’re at and never pursue more money? What can we do with the money we have that will bring greatest joy? The Apostle Paul has some great insights we’ll study this week from 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

E Pluribus Unum is printed on our money, inscribed on government buildings, and serves as the motto of the United States of America. The Latin phrase translates to "out of many, one." It was, and still stands for a goal - that despite the diversity of people, there will be a unity, to stand as one. E Pluribus Unum could also be a descriptor for the Christian Church as well. We look to Ephesians 4, where we stand in unity for our God, even amongst diversity.

This week’s lie is “IF YOU FEEL DEPRESSED, YOU’RE A BAD CHRISTIAN.” Of anything that I might be experientially qualified to speak on, this is probably it It’s an unfortunate thing to be able to call your wheelhouse. Nonetheless, it’s something I’ve certainly wrestled with over the years, and a topic on which I’ve continuously found God’s Word to be unbelievably insightful. This week we’ll examine depression and happiness through the lens of Psalm 143:1-12.

There are definite patterns in behavior that change from one generation to the next. Oftentimes, these behaviors and new norms can cause distress and resentment between age groups. In this lesson, we learn to enjoy the diversity of different ages. The day after Palm Sunday, children in the temple courts shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David,” to Jesus, which aggravated the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We know that worshipful praise has no generational bounds when it comes to Our God and King.

In the first week of a new series, "Satan's Sleight of Hand: The Mostly Untrue Things We Really Need to Stop Believing," we’re going to address one as volatile in relationships as any – divorce. This week’s lie is “IF YOUR MARRIAGE ISN’T HAPPY, YOU SHOULD LEAVE.” It’s much bigger than a right/wrong issue in most circumstances. It’s a “lies we believe” issue. We’ll look at what Jesus teaches in Matthew 19:1-12 and discuss what God permits, what God commands, and what Jesus vows to us about marriage.

The doctrine of the Trinity is a teaching that causes non-believers to perceive Christianity as non-sensical, but is a teaching that compels believers to appreciate a mysterious God who is infinitely greater than we are.

The account of the first Pentecost gives us an incredible example of the gathering of all of God's people and where they come from. We celebrate the diversity of place and acknowledge that God used this festival day to disperse his believers and the Message into different corners of the world.